


Exhausted

by headwonk



Category: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Genre: Exhaustion, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 08:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19058740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/headwonk/pseuds/headwonk
Summary: Miss Peregrine passes out seconds after resetting the loop after having not slept in... who knows how long. Her stubborn behaviour leads Enoch to call in the help of Miss Avocet to knock some sense into Miss P.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on my other account on FF.net- CrazyRedQueen

Miss Peregrine followed her children out into the rain. Admittedly she was a lot slower than usual, but they didn't notice as she was behind them.

She placed the clock on the table next to the gramophone and moved the needle to the correct place on the record. Immediately 'Run, Rabbit, Run' started playing, and she smiled at the familiar song. She put her gas mask on, along with the children, and took a deep breath, turning to face the house.

As the seconds dragged on and the rain fell, she could feel her eyes slipping closed of their own accord. Every few seconds she would have to force them open and focus her attention on the sky where the planes now flew.

She glanced down at the pocketwatch in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut for a second when the numbers seemed to be fading in and out of existance. When she opened her eyes again, she was brought to the realisation that she was only seconds away from needing to press the reset button on the watch.

As quick as she could, she pressed the button, pausing the world around her. The only things that still moved were her and her children. Everything else stood still, and, no matter how long she'd been doing it, she was still in utter disbelief that she had done it. She had paused time.

She looked away from the watch and up at the bomb that was inches away from killing them all. After blinking her eyes again and taking a deep breath, she looked back down at the golden watch in her hands. She started reversing time, watching the world around her go back in time. Even after centuries, it still amazed her.

When the day had finished passing by and she and her wards were back to the second of September rather than the third, she put her pocketwatch back in her pocket. She could hear her children clapping and talking behind her as they took off their gas masks, but she couldn't concentrate. Suddenly everything was disorientating. She couldn't understand what was going on around her.

She swayed on the spot and this time when her eyes fluttered closed, she didn't stop them.

Some of the children called out the name of their headmistress who now lay on the floor with her gas mask still on. The other childen either stared in shock or gasped at the sudden sight.

No one knew what to do and it wasn't until Emma stomped forward with her lead shoes that the others sprang into action and ran forward to their headmistress.

Emma and Jake turned Miss Peregrine over from her stomach and onto her back. Luckily it wasn't raining anymore as it was now the second of September, so Emma took off Miss Peregrine's gas mask to reveal her pale face.

"What's happened?" Claire asked in a timid voice, Miss Teddy in her hands and the Twins stood on either side of her.

"I-I don't know," Emma stuttered out, still unsure.

"I think she's just passed out from exhaustion," Jake spoke, taking in the dark circles under Miss Peregrine's eyes and how unusually pale she looked.

"'Just'?" Enoch repeated, "look at her! She looks like she hasn't slept in months," he pointed out..

"I do sometimes hear her downstairs in the kitchen at night," Horace told them.

"What?" Emma asked, looking up at him, away from Miss Peregrine's gaunt face.

"Well, you know I have trouble sleeping. Sometimes when I wake up, I can hear her moving around downstairs," he said. "One time, I woke up from a particularly bad nightmare and went down to get a drink from the kitchen, and she was still up. She was cleaning the kitchen."

"When was this?" Enoch asked in disbelief.

"I don't remember. A while ago, I guess. I didn't think anything of it at the time because I went back to bed after getting a drink. I assumed she went to bed after cleaning up, but maybe she didn't," he admitted.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Emma snapped. "She looks after us, this house,  _and_ has to reset the loop everyday so we won't die. And now look- she's passed out on the garden floor seconds after the reset because she obviously stays up late just to tidy up after us all," she continued her rant, tears building up in her eyes. Horace looked to the floor, now realising that maybe he could have prevented it if he had mentioned this earlier.

"Emma, stop," Jake interrupted, "it's not his fault. He didn't know this would happen. And even if he did, we couldn't have prevented this- Miss Peregrine is too stubborn."

"Either way," Enoch said, "we need to get her back inside. It's freezing out here," he pointed out. Emma and Jake nodded, moving away from their headmistress to allow Bronwyn to pick her up with an unspoken command.

The children followed Bronwyn inside and into the parlour where the young girl set Miss Peregrine onto one of the couches. Unsure of what to do now, the children stood silently around their headmistress, just looking at her and waiting for her to wake up. With a sigh, some of the children took a seat on the other couch. The others eventually joined them.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Fiona asked after a few minutes.

"If she hasn't slept as long as Horace says... who knows. We should probably get some sleep ourselves," Hugh answered, only just stifling a yawn. Fiona nodded, casting her eyes to the clock.

"You guys go to bed, I'll watch over her and wait for her to wake up," Enoch said, already making a decision for the others.

"I'll watch over her, too," Emma agreed, shifting the heavy books that were on her lap to keep her seated.

Enoch looked at her, "no, you're all tired. I'll look after her, you go to bed," he said, signalling the end of the conversation. Emma wanted to argue, to tell him she wasn't tired at all, but she couldn't help the yawn that escaped her mouth. Enoch smirked when he was proven correct, and turned his attention to Miss Peregrine when she breathed in deeply.

"Come on," Jake said to Emma, removing the books from her lap and leading her out of the parlour with the other children. Emma cast one last glance at her mother as she was lead out, and frowned. She could be so stubborn sometimes, and it would surely be the death of her.

* * *

 

Miss Peregrine's eyes slowly opened and she breathed in sharply. She couldn't remember falling asleep, but apparently she had. She looked up at the ceiling above her and was confused when she saw the parlour ceiling rather than the one in her bedroom.

Baffled, she looked around the room. On the couch opposite the one she was lay on, she could see Enoch. He was fast asleep, proven by his even breathing, but he was sat up and leaning against the arm of the chair.

Tutting, she slowly got up from the couch and stood up. She walked quietly over to him and, as careful as she could, she lay him down so he wasn't sat up in an awkward position. Luckily he didn't wake up, but he did make a noise.

Miss Peregrine looked at the clock and saw it was six am. Thankful she hadn't woken up any later as she needed to make breakfast, she left the parlour and made her way to the kitchen.

On her way, she was highly disappointed to see the back door was open. She quickly walked over to it and stood in the doorway, looking outside. The clock she'd taken out there last night was still on the small table, along with the gramophone. The needle was still on the record, but no songs were playing.

She stepped outside and went over to the table with the clock and gramophone. She took the clock off the table and lifted the needle, promising herself she'd come back and move it all later.

As she was on her way back inside, she almost walked passed something on the floor. She looked down and saw her gas mask. With furrowed brows, she bent down and picked it up. There was some dry mud on it, but she quickly wiped that off.

She was confused. She'd woken up in the parlour which meant she must have gone inside and gone to sleep, but... the last thing she could remember was resetting the loop, and...  _Oh_ , she realised,  _I must have passed out. I'm not sure why, but I must have.. It's the only possible explanation._  That meant her children had taken her inside and set her on the couch in the parlour.  _And Enoch must have been watching over me, but fallen asleep_ , she thought. While she wasn't happy with herself for passing out in front of her children and one of them looking after, she was touched.

Letting out a deep breath, she headed back inside.

* * *

 

When Enoch woke up, he was disorientated. He blinked hard and looked around at his surroundings. At first he was surprised to find himself in the parlour, then he remembered  _why_ he was there. Quickly sitting up, he looked at the empty couch where Miss Peregrine should have been. Only, she wasn't there.

Suddenly, the smell of food made its way to his nose. He breathed in the mouth-watering scent and stood up, heading straight to the kitchen. He hoped he'd find Emma or Jake cooking, but he knew that was unlikely as it was eight am, and they werr usually still in bed at that time.

When he entered the kitchen, he was met with the sight of Miss Peregrine cooking breakfast. As he had expected. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath so as to not explode in anger. She shouldn't be working. Who knows how long she'd been in there cooking. She'd only just passed out last night from exhaustion and now she was up and about as if nothing had happened and she was completely refreshed.

"What are you doing?" Enoch asked, making his presence known. Miss Peregrine startled and whirled around in his direction.

"Enoch!" She exclaimed, putting a smile on her face. "Glad to see you awake. Take a seat, breakfast is nearly done. I'll wake the others in a moment," she said, turning over some bacon in the pan she was holding.

"No. Why are you making breakfast? You passed out just last night from  _exhaustion,_  and here you are, making breakfast for eleven children as if nothing happened," Enoch snapped. Sometimes her stubborness made him angry becauase she would neglect her own wellbeing and needs in favour of theirs. And if what Horace said is true, then she obviously didn't care about her own wellbeing at all if she had allowed things to get this bad.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr O'Connor. Can you go and wake the others, please?" Miss Peregrine requested, putting the food onto plates. Enoch sighed, but didn't protest as he thought maybe Emma or Jake could talk sense into her. She seemed to listen to those two more than him.

Without another word, Enoch left the kitchen to go and wake the others.

* * *

 

When everyone was awake and dressed, they headed downstairs to the dining room where Miss Peregrine had put their breakfast after preparing it in the kitchen. The younger ones quickly ran up to their food, feeling practically starved. Enoch, Emma, Jake, Olive, Horace, and Millard stopped in the doorway, looking around the dining room.

"Where is she?" Millard asked, noticing the absence of Miss Peregrine. They'd already agreed before coming downstairs that they were all going to talk to their headmistress.

"Well she's obviously not in here," Enoch sarcastically said. Millard rolled his eyes, not that anyone could see him anyway.

"We'll just wait for her here," Emma said, moving over to her seat and strapping herself down. Jake and Horace silently nodded, taking their own seats as they were hungry.

Enoch and Millard silently looked at each other. "Well, I'm going to find her. Are you coming?" Enoch asked Millard.

"Sure," Millard shrugged. Admittedly he was as worried about Miss P as Enoch was, but he tried to act nonchalant and tell himself she was fine.

Enoch led the way out of the dining room, feeling the stares of the other children as Millard followed closely behind. __

* * *

 

Miss Peregrine sat outside in the garden underneath the 'Squirel Tree' as she and the others called it. The birds were oddly silent, but she basked in the tranquility. With her amazing hearing, even in her human form, she could faintly hear her children talking and the sounds of cutlery on plates. She smiled to herself and lifted her pipe to her mouth to take a puff.

Her eyes drifted close, but this time it was of her own accord. She wasn't about to pass out, not now that she had gotten at least eight hours of rest after her most recent performance.

She laughed bitterly to herself as she breathed out smoke.  _What have I become?_  She silently asked herself, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyes.  _I can't even go to sleep at night for fear of being held under by my nightmares. I wonder if this is how Horace feels..._ Another cloud of smoke escaped her mouth and she realised she must have absentmindedly been smoking it.

She opened her eyes just in time to see a bird fly by, and she watched it, admiring how free it looked. How it could fly around in the bright blue sky and didn't have to worry about anything other than what sticks it would use to build its nest. Sometimes she envied birds- real, actual birds- but then she realised she had everything she wanted right here. Of course it was hard at times, but the small moments made it worth it (like being handed a drawing by Claire, or teaching the children whatever they wanted to know). But then, of course...

Her hand holding the pipe shook and she frowned, glaring at it. Resting it in her lap, she leaned her head back against the tree and looked at the sky.

"Miss P?" She heard. She turned her head to the left to see two of her wards coming over to her. She immediately stood up from the floor and wiped some mud and grass off her skirt, plastering a smile on her face.

"Enoch, Millard. Good morning," she said, mentally taking note of the frown on Enoch's face.

"Good morning, Miss. What are you doing out here?" Millard asked.

"Oh, I was just admiring the birds," she told him, thanking the Birds themselves when one happened to fly by at that moment.

"Oh, are you coming inside or breakfast?"

"I don't think so. I'm not that hungry," she said, flashing an apologetic smile. Enoch looked down, wondering how to approach the subject as his last attempt hadn't gone so well.

Deciding to just get on with it, he looked up. "We know you haven't been sleeping, Miss P. That's why you passed out yesterday. You're exhausted," he pointed out, knowing it was the truth and ready to argue with her should she deny it.

"I don't-" she started only to get cut off by Enoch.

"Yes, you do! Don't try and deny it this time. Horace has trouble sleeping, too, and sometimes when he wakes up, he can hear you moving around downstairs. No matter what time it is, you're always awake," he snapped. Miss Peregrine was taken aback- never had any of her children spoken to her like that before. Millard looked at Enoch, almost as shocked as Miss Peregrine was.

"You might not care about your wellbeing, but we do," Enoch continued before Miss Peregrine could say anything. "We don't like it when you randomly pass out because you're exhausted. And we don't like it when you stay up till Bird-knows what time just to tidy up after us."

"Enoch, I think you're being a little harsh," Millard said, taking in Miss Peregrine's gobsmacked expression.

"No, I'm being honest," Enoch replied, not looking away from Miss Peregrine. Their headmistress sighed, but didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Lucky for her, Enoch did, "if you don't start looking after yourself... we'll be forced to call in another ymbryne," he said. Miss Peregrine's eyes widened and she stared at him full of shock.

"What?" She and Millard asked at the same time. Obviously he hadn't told the others about it. "You can't do that," she denied.

"I can and I will. I think Miss Avocet would live to come and have a chat with you seeing as you're not going to listen to us," Enoch replied, looking more serious than usual.

"You wouldn't," Miss Peregrine corrected, prepared to leave this conversation.

"Try me. If you're not going to look after yourself then I'll call in someone who will," Enoch folded his arms.

Millard stood silent, watching the interaction with interest. He wasn't sure whether or not Enoch actually would call Miss Avocet, but Miss Peregrine seemed to think he wouldn't so he didn't know what to think.

Internally Miss Peregrine was screaming. There was the very high chance that Enoch  _would_ call Miss Avocet over to their loop, but the irrational part of herself (the part that let her stay up every night until she passed out) wouldn't back down. She was having a mental argument with herself, one part of her brain telling her to stop being so stubborn, and the other half telling her to just give in. Give into what, she didn't know, but fifty percent of her wanted to.

"Enoch, you can't," she repeated herself, trying to steady her breathing.

"And you seem to think I  _won't_ ," he said, raising an eyebrow, "well, just watch me."

With that, he stormed back into the house, leaving Miss Peregrine and Millard alone by the tree. Miss Peregrine almost swore out loud right then, realizing what she'd just done, but she quickly remembered she was with Millard so she bit her tongue and followed after Enoch to hopefully catch him before he could make that dreaded phone call.


	2. Chapter Two

When Miss Peregrine arrived inside and headed to the hallway where the phone was, she was appalled to see Enoch actually at the phone and inputting numbers. She quickly rushed up to him, and in a hushed whisper so as to not alert the others, she spoke to him, "stop this right now." Enoch looked at her briefly, but went back to putting in the last number and waiting for Miss Avocet to answer. "Enoch, I'm warning you. Put that phone down now, or-"

"Or what?" Enoch interrupted her. "What will you do?" She didn't answer as she didn't know what she would do. "This is for your own good, Miss Peregrine," he claimed. With a shake of her head and resisting the childish urge to stomp her foot, she walked off and headed up the stairs to her room.

* * *

 

After the fourth ring, Miss Avocet finally answered. Her merry voice came through the telephone and there was the faint sound of children in the background. "Alma?" She asked, expecting Miss Peregrine.

"No, this is Enoch," he replied, "one of Miss Peregrine's wards."

"Ah, yes. Miss Peregrine has told me about you," Miss Avocet said, her enthusiasm never wavering. "How can I help you, Enoch? Is Miss Peregrine alright?" She asked, worry finally creeping into her voice.

"Actually, no. That's why I'm calling."

"What's happened? Where is she?"

"She's upstairs. She's fine at the moment, it's just... well, she passed out last night from exhaustion. She hasn't been sleeping for who knows how long, and she refuses to acknowledge how dangerous what she's doing is. I though maybe you could come to our loop and speak to her. She won't listen to us," Enoch told her, silently hoping she would see things from his point of view.

"Oh, dear," Miss Avocet trailed off.

"What?" Enoch asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"She used to do this a lot when she was younger, too. She'd go days without sleeping and it was only when I had a very stern talk with her that she started sleeping again," Miss Avocet admitted, sounding regretful.

"Why do you think she's stopped again?" Enoch asked, internally worrying for his headmistress.

"I'm not sure, but not to worry. I'll come right over and talk to her for you," Miss Avocet promised, "see if I can't knock some sense into her."

"Thank you, Miss Avocet," Enoch breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his forehead. "How long will it take for you to get here?"

"Oh, only a few hours. That'll give me plenty of time to talk to Miss Peregrine and then get back to my loop. Don't worry, things will be fine," she reassured him.

"Thank you again, Miss."

"You're welcome, Enoch. Now I'll have to go so I can inform my children I'll be coming over to your loop."

"Of course. See you soon."

"Goodbye, Enoch," with that, both parties ended the call and put their phones down. Enoch breathed another sigh of relief, thankful Miss Avocet had agreed to come over. And he'd learned something about Miss Peregrine. Her not sleeping wasn't new. She used to do it when she was younger. He briefly wondered why, but someone tapping his shoulder made him jump. He turned around to see Olive stood behind him.

She apologised for frightening him.

"Millard told us what you were doing," she stated, gesturing towards the phone. "Is it really a good idea? Don't you think Miss P will be mad at you?" She continued.

"I doubt she'll be mad at me. And even if she is, it's for her own good," Enoch claimed. Olive nodded. "I should probably go tell the Bird that Miss Avocet has agreed to come see her," Enoch sighed.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Olive asked, placing a hand on his arm. Enoch nodded mutely and headed towards the stairs.

* * *

 

A few hours later, after Enoch and Olive had told Miss Peregrine that Miss Avocet would be coming and got no response, a knock sounded at the front door.

Claire and the Twins jumped up from where they'd been playing tea time in the parlour and ran to the front door. The older children followed the eager kids and watched as one of the Twins threw open the door. On the porch, with her signature white hair and black streak, stood Miss Avocet herself.

Suddenly shy as they'd never met Miss Avocet before, the three children took a step back. Miss Avocet smiled warmly and stepped inside when the children moved out of the way to let her in.

She looked around at the eleven children and finally rested her eyes on Enoch. She stepped forward and shook his hand.

"Enoch, I presume?" She asked, though she obviously knew the answer.

"Yes, I'm very grateful you agreed to see Miss P," Enoch said, putting his hand by his side when she let go.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Now, where is she?" She inquired, looking around.

"I'll show you, follow me," Enoch said, already making his way to the staircase. Emma and Jake also followed closely behind with Olive offering to watch the younger children.

Enoch, Jake, and Emma led Miss Avocet down the hall to the door at the very end. It was just a plain door with no markings or writing, but everyone that lives there recognised it as Miss Peregrine's.

"This is her room. We haven't heard from her since I called you earlier," Enoch said with an eye roll, "she knows you're coming though." Miss Avocet returned the gesture with an amused smile.

Turning to the door, she knocked on it three times with her knuckles. "Alma," she called through the door, "it's me. Miss Avocet." There was no reply for a while, not a sound, but after nearly a minute, the door swung open to reveal Miss Peregrine on the other side of the door. She looked perectly fine in appearance, but if you concentrated hard enough, you could see she looked nervous or scared. No matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Miss Avocet, how lovely to see you," Miss Peregrine greeted and pulled the other woman into a hug.

"Oh, Alma, you know you can call me Esmerelda," Miss Avocet replied, pulling away from the hug after a few seconds.

"Of course, apologies, Esmerelda," Miss Peregrine smiled gently.

"No worries. Now, how about we have a little chat?" Miss Avocet suggested with a raised eyebrow and a semi-stern look. Miss Peregrine sighed and stepped back to let her old headmistress into her room.

When the two ymbrynes disappeared behind the door, the three peculiar children reluctantly headed back downstairs.

oOoOoOo

Miss Avocet sat on a wicker chair that resided in Miss Peregrine's bedroom, next to her bed. Miss Peregrine herself sat at the edge of the bed, looking down at her hands in her lap. It had been centuries since she'd been at the Ymbryne Academy under Miss Avocet's care, but she hadn't felt more like a child than in that moment.

"Enoch tells me you haven't been sleeping? And that you passed out yesterday?" Miss Avocet started slowly. Miss Peregrine looked to the left briefly then turned her attention to her old headmistress.

"That is true," she merely said, knowing it was useless to deny it like she had with Enoch.

"Why haven't you been sleeping, Alma?" Miss Avocet questioned, moving to sit next to Miss Peregrine.

"It doesn't matter. It won't happen again, I assure you," Miss Peregrine said.

"When you put your children's lives in danger, it does matter!" Miss Avocet sternly told her.

"I haven't put my children's lives in danger and I don't appreciate what you're saying, Esmerelda," Miss Peregrine snapped back.

"You passed out mere seconds after resetting the loop! What would have happened if you'd passed out earlier, hm? Both you and your wards would have died."

"I don't need your help, Miss Avocet," Miss Peregrine retorted and stood up, moving over to the window, "I want you to leave."

"You're just too stubborn for your own good, Alma. This isn't the first time you've done this, and I fear it won't be the last," Miss Avocet sighed and left the room, leaving Miss Peregrine to her thoughts.

A few minutes after Miss Avocet had left the room, Miss Peregrine slowly moved away from the window and back to her bed. She sat back down and put her head in her hands, a strong feeling of guilt finally overwashing her.

* * *

 

Shaking her head, Miss Avocet made her way down the stairs in search of Miss Peregrine's wards.

She found them all gathered in the sitting room, all caught up in their own activities. Some were gathered by the unlit fire, completing a jigsaw puzzle, others were on the couch, reading a book on peculiars.

She coughed to gain their attention and smiled when they immediately got up, and ran towards her. She quickly calmed them, but her smile faltered when she updated them on their headmistress.

"I'm afraid there's not much I can do for Miss Peregrine," she regretfully told them, feeling guilty when they frowned. "She won't listen to me either, she's just too stubborn."

"Have you even tried?" Enoch snapped and crossed his arms.

"Enoch!" Olive gasped.

"That woman worships you- you're the only one she'll listen to, so I can't help but think you haven't even tried to talk to her," Enoch continued, ignoring Olive.

"Mr O'Connor!" Miss Avocet said. Enoch shifted, realising how rude he'd been. "I have a couple more hours until I need to leave for my loop," she said, calming down, "I shall stay here until then, and continue to try and talk to Miss Peregrine."

Miss Avocet clasped her hands in front of her, "until then, who's hungry?" All of the children smiled, grateful to have her there and looking after them whilst their own ymbryne was going through a hard time.

* * *

 

Lunch was an odd affair. It was unusual to have someonw who wasn't Miss Peregrine cook for them and it was even more puzzling to have Miss Avocet at the head of the table instead of theit ymbryne. Said ymbryne hadn't even shown her face since Enoch, Emma, and Jake briefly saw her earlier when Miss Avocet arrived.

After they'd all eaten, Miss Avocet sent the younger children out into the garden to play in the last few hours of sunlight with Olive to watch over them. There was only a few protests from Bronwyn and Hugh who wanted to know what was happening with their ymbryne, but after being reassured by Emma that Miss Peregrine wiuld be fine and Miss Avocet would make sure of that, the children had reluctantly left the house to play in the garden.

"I believe it's time to go see Miss Peregrine, don't you?" Miss Avocet mused as she placed the last dish on the drying board.

"You can help her, can't you?" Emma fussed and handed Miss Avocet a tea towel to dry her hands.

"Miss Peregrine is a very stubborn woman," Miss Avocet noted and from the looks on the children's faces, they knew it. "I will try my hardest to talk some sense into her, however, I cannot make any promises."

"What happens if you can't?" Jake spoke up, gaining confused looks from Emma and Enoch. "Talk sense into her, I mean. Even Miss Peregrine can't go on like this for long. We saw that yesterday."

"Well," Miss Avocet started hesitantly, placing the towel down on the back of a chair, "if she still refuses to sleep, she will most likely be taken out of her position as an ymbryne and be forced to speak to the Council. They'll decide what to do with her, but I should imagine that they will either get her the help she needs or..."

"Or what?" Enoch demanded, eyes hardening.

"Best not to dwell on all that," Miss Avocet said with a forced smile. She headed to the doorway of the kitchen. "I shall go and speak to Miss Peregrine. I don't have too long left before I have to leave."

With a heavy sigh, Enoch nodded his head and watched with his usual frown as the ymbryne trotted off through the hallway towards the stairs.

"What do you think the Council will do to Miss Peregrine?" Emma questioned when Miss Avocet disappeared from view.

"Nothing. She won't be going to see the Council because she's going to get better. We'll see to that," Enoch stated confidently.

oOoOoOo

Raising her hand to Miss Peregrine's door for the second time that day, Miss Avicet rapped on it three times then lowered her hand to wait for the door to open. This time it took even longer for the door to be pulled open, but when it did, Miss Avocet wasted no time on greetings and hurried into the room.

"Miss Avocet!" Miss Peregrine exclaimed, affronted. Almost on instinct, she closed the door anyway despite not wanted the other woman in the room.

"Sit down, Alma," Miss Avocet ordered, pointing at the neatly made bed. It was obvious from first glance that it hadn't been slept in, in Bird-knows how long.

Looking conflicted, Miss Peregrine slowly made her way to the bed and tentatively sat down on the edge of it. With a self-satisfied nod, Miss Avocet returned to the wicker chair she'd sat on earlier and smoothed her skirts when she plopped down into it.

"Now, I want to know how long this has been going on for," Miss Avocet ordered then held up a hand when Miss Peregrine opened her mouth with a frown, looking ready to argue. "Just be honest with me, Alma. For the sake of your children, they're worried about you."

Thankfully, Miss Peregrine sighed and closed her mouth, forgettinf her argument. Her eyes soon closed too and she tilted her head down, seeming to be gathering her bearings.

"About a month now," she quietly admitted a short moment later, her eyes opening. She remained looking at her lap, her hands clasped in them.

"A month?" Miss Avocet repeated in shock. Even when Alma was just a young ymbryne, she didn't go that long without sleep. Sooner or later she would be forced to sleep due to sheer exaustion, then the process would repeat. Miss Avocet couldn't think of a time when the woman had gone that long without sleeping.

Miss Peregrine closed her eyes again, this time out of what looked like shame, and Miss Avocet was forced to calm down and put her opinions on the matter aside for now.

"Why, Alma? Why haven't you been sleeping?" Miss Avocet gently asked next.

Miss Peregrine simply shook her head, refusing to give an answer. Miss Avocet blinked at the woman, a frown donning her face. What was it that was keeping the woman awake? How could it be so bad she refused to talk about it?

Getting up, Miss Avocet quietly shuffled over to the bed and sat down next to her, a reasonable distance away that she wouldn't feel caged, but close enough that she knew she was safe and wasn't alone.

With her right hand, Miss Avocet one Miss Peregrine's own, making sure she wouldn't refuse the contact as she was sure the younger woman would have back at the Ymbryne Academy. There was a time when the woman would have shunned any form of physical contact, doing absolutely anything to avoid it. Even going so far as to hissing at others if it looked like they might touch her. It seemed the ymbryne had gotten over that fear though, over the years.

When Miss Peregrine didn't pull away, Miss Avocet placed her left arm over the other woman's shoulder and carefully pulled her into her side to give her the comfort she clearly needed.

"Come now, Alma," Miss Avocet murmured, "you know you're safe here, don't you?"

Miss Peregrine nodded into her side.

"Good," Miss Avocet whispered, "good. Now why don't you tell me about what's been keeping you awake, huh? See if we can't do something about it."

"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it," Miss Peregrine sighed. "It's Caul. He has been haunting my dreams lately, showing up when I least expect it and taking my wards from me. Just to get revenge on me. Then he leaves me alone to deal with the loss because he knows it's better than killing me."

"Oh, Alma," Miss Avocet cooed, pulling the woman in closer and tightening her hold. Personally, she'd had her suspicions about why she hadn't been sleeping, and it seems she was right. Only, she hadn't expected Miss Peregrine to sound so defeated. As if, if Caul were to show up now, she wouldn't even bat an eye because she'd been expecting it for so long.

"Caul is dead, Alma," Miss Avocet found herself reminding Miss Peregrine, rubbing her upper arm, "he started the experiment that inspired Mr Barron, but it killed him, remember?"

"I know that," Miss Peregrine snapped, brushing away tears Miss Avocet couldn't see from her position. "That doesn't stop him from haunting my dreams! From killing my children and destroying my whole world! I'm just-" she stopped, taking in a sharp breath and breathing out shakily, "I'm just scared, Esmerelda."

Miss Avocet herself had to wipe away her own tears at the admission, looking up at the ceiling and willing herself not to cry anymore. She had to be strong for Miss Peregrine. She couldn't leave the house in a couple hours knowing she hadn't helped the woman one bit.

"I know, my dear, I know," Miss Avocet said, now using her right hand to brush unpin the woman's black and blue hair. She would help the ymbryne to sleep and let her know she needn't be scared because she was safe. "And that's alright, Alma. It really is. It's okay to be scared. Everyone gets scared sometimes. But knowing you can ask for help and actually doing so only makes you stronger."

Miss Peregrine's hair came loose after the final pin and came tumbling down her back in silky waves. Miss Avocet brushed through them with her fingers, remembering when the woman was an Ymbryne in Training and she (very rarely) asked for help with doing her hair. Sometimes she would have glue in it (Bird-knows how) or a giant chunk of it would have been messily chopped off and in need of neatening up. It took a while for the older ymbrynes to realise that the girl had been tormented by her brothers for years because of their own jealousy that the girl could not only turn into a bird, but control time, too.

Caul himself could turn into a Peregrine Falcon just like his sister, but only females possessed the power to create loops which is where his jealousy lay. Myron could neither turn into a bird or create loops, he possessed a different peculiarity to his siblings. He could talk to any number of animals and control them. It was an unfortunate peculiarity as, under the orders of Caul, he would occasionally take control of Alma when she was in bird form and have her do a many number of cruel things against her will.

The girl's brothers were sick, to say the least. It sometimes surprised Miss Avocet that the woman was still a functioning person, but then she remembered that Miss Peregrine was a strong-willed woman. Not much could break her.

Getting up from the bed, Miss Avocet trotted over to the wardrobe and removed a dark blue, cotton nightdress from it. It was small compared to herself, but clearly big enough to fit Miss Peregrine. The hem reached the floor and the sleeves were long. It had a small collar at the neck and a bit of lace at the sleeves and hem.

"Here you are, dear, change into this," Miss Avocet said gently, handing Miss Peregrine the dress.

Sighing, Miss Peregrine took the dress and stood up from the bed, exiting the room to enter her en suit off to the side. Whilst Miss Peregrine did that, Miss Avocet looked around for some form of distraction.

She found said distraction in the form of a framed black and white photograph on Miss Peregrine's nightstand. Picking it up, Miss Avocet smiled at the sight of eleven grinning faces looking back at her. Well, make that ten, she thought as she spotted Enoch off to the side looking the least happy she'd ever seen a child look.

The en suit door creaked open and Miss Avocet placed the photograph back down in its rightful place, turning around to see Miss Peregrine emerging from the bathroom with her nightdress on. She held her clothes in her hand which she turned and put in the hamper next to the door.

Miss Avocet hurried over to her and led her back over to the bed. She pulled the white covers back, far enough for Miss Peregrine to slip into the bed, which she did after some ushering from Miss Avocet. She seemed reluctant to get to bed at such an early time, but Miss Avocet reassured her it was fine and that she would take care of the loop and make sure all of the children were in bed on time before she left.

"What about Claire?" Miss Peregrine inquired, sitting up. "She can't sleep without a story. And if Horace has a nightmare, I have to be there for him."

"There's no need to fret, Alma," Miss Avocet reassured her, "I have it all under control."

Miss Peregrine sighed and settled back down against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.

"Just get some sleep, Alma, you're exauasted," Miss Avocet smiled kindly to which Miss Peregrine nodded reluctantly and closed her eyes, turning onto her side.

Miss Avocet decided at the last minute to stay and watch over Miss Peregrine just to be sure she got to sleep and there was nothing to worry about. She took a seat on the wicket chair and picked up a book from the side to occupy her mind.

* * *

 

Eventually, it took about an hour for Miss Peregrine to fall asleep and when she did, Miss Avocet quietly stood up and returned to book to where she got it from. She checked on Miss Peregrine one more time before pressing a mother kiss to her forehead and slipping out of the rom as quietly as she could.

"How is she?" A voice demanded not even three seconds after she'd closed the door. It took everything in her not to raise a hand to her chest where her heart was now beating madly.

"It isn't great manners to sneak up on someone, you know, Enoch," Miss Avocet chastised seriously, but softened at the obvious worry in his eyes. "But, Miss Peregrine is fine. She's currently in bed, asleep. I don't think she'll be missing out on anymore sleep from now one. If she does, however, I sant you to phone me immediately. Or any other ymbryne if you can't get ahold of myself."

Enoch nodded in understanding, crossing his arms. Then something crossed his face, "if she's asleep, how is she going to reset the loop?"

"I'll be resetting the loop tonight and tomorrow things shall be back to normal," Miss Avocet answered.

"So, that's it? Things are fine now?" Enoch asked, looking perturbed as if he'd expected fixing things to be harder.

"That's it," Miss Avocet confirmed with a smile. "Now, why don't you go ahead and tell the others that Miss Peregrine is feeling better and there's no need to fret. I'm sure they'll be glad of the good news."

Slowly, Enoch nodded with one last glance at Miss Peregrine's bedroom door. Miss Avocet smiled at his retreating form, glad things were back to normal at Miss Peregrine's loop.

With a small, satisfied chuckle, Miss Avocet followed in Enoch's wake, knowing she should start preparing for the loop reset.


End file.
